Independent Lens, Global Voices, True Stories
Maid in America
Meet three undocumented workers who toil as cooks, housekeepers, and even surrogate mothers as they attempt to pursue their American dreams.
Paraiso for Sale
Award-winning documentary about the migration of American retirees to a small, indigenous island in Panama.
- Funding Initiative
- Diversity Development Fund
Producer/Director
Anayansi Prado
Born in Panama, Anayansi Prado earned a B.A. in broadcasting and film from Boston University. In 1998, Prado moved to Los Angeles where she founded Impacto Films, a production company geared toward the production of documentaries with a social impact.
A recipient of two John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation grants, Prado directed Maid in America, Paraiso for Sale and was the co-director and co-producer of a documentary on the Immigrant Workers Freedom Ride, a cross-country trip designed to bring awareness and change to the working conditions of immigrants in the United States.
- Other ITVS Films
- Maid in America
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Learn more about funding opportunities with ITVS.
The Film
This engaging and revealing documentary tells the personal stories of the people who call the archipelago of Bocas del Toro, Panama, home and would like to keep it that way. From an American couple who’ve invested not just in their home but in their Panamanian community to a local businessman turned political hopeful and an indigenous leader fighting for his land, the characters and stories in Paraiso for Sale speak to the larger global issue of communities, new and old, under siege from faceless corporations. The film explores issues of modern day colonialism, residential tourism, global gentrification and reverse migration, revealing that immigration between Latin America and the U.S. is not just a one-way street.
